The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [227]
Just because you don’t want kids now, there is no reason to create hormonal issues that affect everything from cognition to sexual function. I’ve seen too many lives disrupted by diet-induced hormonal problems. Think ahead.
For my personal story, see “Sex Machine I: Adventures in Tripling Testosterone.”
Good luck and do your homework. It can be a confusing jungle out there, but there are ways to simplify. It’s my hope that the five-step progression in the last chapter helps you improve yourself and the world around you, one conscious meal at a time.
Small changes matter.
TOOLS AND TRICKS
The Good Guide (http://www.goodguide.com/) Founded by Professor Dara O’Rourke of the University of California–Berkeley, this “for-benefit” start-up provides a consumer guide to common products, ranking each by health, impact on the environment, and impact on society. What chemicals are in your baby shampoo? Was sweatshop labor used to make your T-shirt? Is that whole-grain cereal really good for you? Good Guide can tell you, and help direct your buying behavior.
Additional Interviews (www.fourhourbody.com/vegan-athletes) Nate Green, who helped research this chapter, was able to interview the following vegans and former vegetarians, among others: Brendan Frazier, Bill Pearl (multiple-time Mr. America and Mr. Universe winner), Mike Mahler, and Dave Scott. I also interviewed Scott Jurek and rock- climbing phenom Steph Davis. All of them are available online.
Howard Lyman, Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth from the Cattle Rancher Who Won’t Eat Meat (Scribner, 2001) (www.fourhourbody.com/cowboy) This is one of three books (the others were Andrew Weil’s Spontaneous Healing and 8 Weeks to Optimal Health) that convinced Scott Jurek to become a vegan. Howard Lyman, a third- generation cattle rancher, appeared on Oprah and was a party in her legal battle with Texas cattle ranchers.
Lierre Keith, The Vegetarian Myth (www.fourhourbody.com/myth) This is a look at the flip side. Lierre Keith was a vegan for 20 years. She no longer is, and this book explores the moral, eco-political, and nutritional realities of veganism that led her to reincorporate limited animal products into her diet. Reference- rich and well-written, it is easily the most engrossing book on these topics that I have ever read.
Beyond Vegetarianism (www.beyondveg.com) BeyondVeg, curated by vegetarian Thomas E. Billings, features reports from veterans of raw-food and vegetarian diets (including veganism and fruitarianism), plus new scientific discoveries from clinical nutrition. The intent of the site is to discuss the serious problems that can occur on alternative diets but often go unreported. How have dieters solved their problems, whether by modifying the diet in some “unapproved” way while remaining vegetarian, or by adopting nonvegetarian options? BeyondVeg is one of the best compendiums of answers I’ve found.
End of Chapter Notes
14. Berardi emphasized that he would use unsweetened almond milk in place of soy milk if he repeated the experiment.
15. This is another problem with eating a large volume of raw vegetables: “anti-nutrients.” Anti-nutrients are so named because they prevent absorption of other nutrients, often essential minerals. Examples are phytic acid (interferes with calcium, zinc, and copper), trypsin inhibitors, and our bloat-causing friends, lectins, which act as enzyme inhibitors and prevent proper digestion. This is one of the reasons vegans can eat plenty of everything and still end up nutritionally deficient.
16. Scott Jurek agrees: “I try to get people to think about what I eat, rather than what I do not eat, as that is how I look at it.”
17. Special thanks to Dr. Nassim Assefi, TED Fellow and internist specializing in women’s health and global